Obama visits Israeli national figures at cemetery

Friday, March 22, 2013 - 00:54

March 22 - U.S. President Barack Obama pays his respects at the tomb of the founder of modern Zionism and the grave of a murdered Israeli prime minister, who has become a symbol of the peace process. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

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(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)
U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday (March 22) visited the National Cemetery at Mount Herzl, where he paid his respects at the tombs of prominent Jewish leaders on the last day of his visit to Israel.
Basking in bright sunshine, Obama walked through Jerusalem's Mount Herzl cemetery, laying a wreath on the tomb of Theodor Herzl, the Zionist visionary who died more than four decades before the 1948 founding of Israel.
Flanked by Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu, Obama walked up to the black marble tomb where he stood for a moment of reflection. In accordance with Jewish tradition, he placed stones on the grave of Theodor Herzl.
Obama also laid a wreath at the final resting place of Yitzhak Rabin, the former Israeli prime minister who was assassinated in 1995 by an extremist enraged by his efforts to make peace with Palestinians.
Obama was due to fly later in the day to Jordan for talks with King Abdullah, a U.S. ally, about an array of problems, including the civil war in neighbouring Syria and stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace moves.